Oxford Academics in China Series

Sleep and the Rhythms of Life - Science to Health

Alumni lunch with Professor Russell Foster, Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford

Synopsis

An internal 24 hour biological clock (circadian clock) controls, modulates and fine-tunes our sleep patterns, alertness, mood, physical strength, blood pressure, and every other aspect of our biology. The past decade has witnessed remarkable progress in understanding how the brain generates our circadian rhythms and sleep patterns.

In parallel with our increasing understanding of mechanisms, there is a growing appreciation of the severe consequences of ignoring the impact of these rhythms on our physiology, health and quality of life. The presentation will consider how circadian rhythms are generated and regulated by light, and why we can’t ignore this fundamental part of our biology in terms of individual health and how we organize our society.

Professor Russell Foster, a circadian neuroscientist, will provide insights on the above during a casual dim sum lunch in Guangzhou, a city that never sleeps, on 6 November. Find out about his latest cutting-edge discoveries into sleep and circadian rhythms and how to apply them to your daily (or should we say, nightly) life.

Professor Russell Foster is Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophalmology and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuoscience Institute at the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of Brasenose College Oxford. Professor Foster’s research interests span the neurosciences, but with a focus on the regulation and generation of sleep and circadian rhythms, and what happens when these systems go wrong across multiple areas of health.

He has published over 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers and four popular science books on sleep and circadian rhythms. For his discoveries he has received many prizes and honours, not least election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 2008 and the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2013. In 2015 alone he was awarded the Farrell (Harvard University) and Feldberg (Germany) Prizes. He delivered the Sourkes Memorial lecture (McGill University) and the Royal Society of Medicine, Anne Silk lecture (London).

Professor Foster was awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of Bristol, returning one year later to deliver the commencement speech for biomedical graduates. Also in 2015 he was appointed as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to science. This honour was presented by Prince William at Windsor Castle. Click here for his detailed biography.